


we will stumble through heaven

by hitchhikersguidetotheuniverse



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Jeronica Week: Halloween!, Mythology Prompt, angsty, jughead has theories, that's about it, this is a very open interpretation of the prompt, what have i written?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 07:24:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16445393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hitchhikersguidetotheuniverse/pseuds/hitchhikersguidetotheuniverse
Summary: Jughead thinks they could be gods.





	we will stumble through heaven

**Author's Note:**

> Woop! This is my first installment for Jeronica Week: Halloween, and I'm very excited. I was half asleep when I wrote this, so there's not really a plot, the tenses may be really messed up and there could be a few spelling mistakes.
> 
> I also very loosely included the prompt 'Mythology', so don't expect too much of that.
> 
> The title comes from Halsey's 'Young Gods', which is briefly mentioned in this fic.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and if you liked it, please leave a kudos and a comment!

If they are gods, Jughead thinks one day in the summer, sitting alone in a booth in Pop’s, then Betty is Aphrodite, goddess of love, giving and giving until there is nothing left. Archie is Ares, god of war, because he fights every day for those he loves, and doesn’t ever seem to give up.

It’s fitting that Archie and Betty mirror each other in mythology like they do in real life.

Veronica had told him something that Kevin had said once.

They were endgame.

The Fates had planned that one.

* * *

 

Veronica, he thinks, as he watches her dancing between booths, taking orders and giving smiles, might be Persephone, Queen of the Underworld in the winter, and daughter of spring at any other time.

It is winter for her right now.

Maybe because of Archie, refusing to see her, or maybe because of her father, sentencing her to exile in her own home.

_Veronica_ , Jughead writes, _wears heartache well_.

* * *

 

Betty calls him from her internship. She’s bright and bubbly, something that Jughead is most definitely surprised by. Summer is hot and awful, not just because of the weather, but because of the predicament that their childhood best friend is in. But Betty remains positive and loving, telling him that they’re building a strong case for Archie.

That he’s going to be okay.

For a moment, Jughead almost believes her.

* * *

 

For all of the time that Jughead spends at Pop’s, he and Veronica rarely talk, only acknowledging each other when they truly have to. It’s kind of funny, really. He and Veronica are supposed to be great friends.

But without their good hearted, bright haired best friends around, they stick to silence.

* * *

 

They form an uneasy alliance that summer, Persephone and him. Jughead still can’t figure out which god he is, but Veronica cements hers every day that she works in the diner.

Sometimes, when Veronica has finished her shift, and can’t bear to go back to the Pembrooke, where everything is tense, they sit in a booth together and discuss cinema and fine art and music. One day Veronica makes him listen to a song that allegedly, Betty loves.

She says he needs to be a better boyfriend.

He thinks she’s just trying to distract herself from her own relationship troubles.

* * *

 

The song is called Young Gods.

It fits in well with his novel - slides right into his theory about mythology.

* * *

 

By the time that they go back to school, Archie is in jail, Betty is distant, and Veronica is working on her speakeasy every moment that she can spare. Jughead helps out when he can, roping the Serpents in to help as well.

Hell, he even manages to persuade Reggie to come.

‘It’s not much,’ he reasons to Veronica later that night, ‘But it’s enough.’

She smiles at him then, face lighting up, and he’s struck, suddenly by how beautiful she is. ‘It’s enough,’ she whispers back.

Her fingers intertwine with his, and Jughead finds himself holding onto her hand long into the night.

* * *

 

It’s 1am and he’s sitting in his normal booth at Pop’s, wallowing. He’d spent all of his time on Betty this past year. Trying to actually make a relationship work.

And it had, for a time. But it seemed that his time had finally run out.

He’s not as cut up about it as he’d thought he’d be.

* * *

 

He might be in love with Veronica, he thinks one night, nursing his eighth cup of coffee. It’s taken him a long time to come to this realisation, and when he gets there, he’s not exactly pleased. Veronica is his opposite in every way. She’s Betty’s opposite in every way.

But he’s drawn to her, like a moth is drawn to a flame. He likes the way that her hair cascades over her shoulders. He likes that whenever she’s nervous, she’ll tuck that hair behind her ears. He likes that he can read her like a book, likes that she can do the same for him.

But most of all, he loves that whenever he’s with her, he doesn’t feel alone.

* * *

 

It turns out that making Betty his Serpent Queen was quite possibly the worst decision he has ever made in his admittedly short, and not very exciting life. Now that they’ve broken up, Betty somehow keeps finding ways of staying in touch with the Serpents, acting like she really is their ruler. None of the Serpents appreciate it. In fact, Sweet Pea and Fangs had been on his back all summer asking him to get rid of her.

It’s only at the opening of Veronica’s speakeasy that he realises how much she’ll never be a true Serpent. She is blonde and pretty and perfect - a Northsider through and through, and despite her dark-side, she doesn’t have the true grit that a Serpent needs to survive.

She’s no Queen of the Underworld, that’s for sure.

* * *

 

Jughead has escaped Betty's grasp and questions about how the Serpents are going to adapt to the new speakeasy when he runs into Veronica. He hasn’t seen her all night - or maybe she’d been avoiding him as much as he’d been avoiding her.

‘You look beautiful,’ he gets out, surprised at the rasp in his voice. It’s true though. She is beautiful, purple dress sparkling and showing her off in all of the right places.

She gives him a crooked grin. ‘You don’t look so bad yourself, Forsythe.’

Jughead feels the corners of his mouth quirk upwards at the use of his real name. He’s feeling brave and a little reckless tonight, like he might do something stupid.

Something stupid like kiss Veronica. His daze darts to her lips, like it’s being doing far too often these days.

She notices.

Her mouth curves up into a smile. ‘Jughead Jones, if you want to kiss me, all you have to is ask.’

Emboldened, he takes a step forward and cups her cheek in his hand, other one looping around her waist and pulling their bodies close together. ‘Veronica Lodge,’ he asks, smirking slightly as her eyes flutter and her breath hitches at his touch, ‘May I kiss you?’

She doesn’t answer, and for a moment Jughead is afraid that he’s done something terribly, terribly wrong. He’s about to open his mouth to say something - probably awkward - when she tilts her head up and captures his mouth with her own.

And _God_ , it’s like the world just stops, until it’s only Jughead and Veronica, Veronica and Jughead, making out like it’s the end of the world.

* * *

 

He thinks that if Veronica is Persephone, then he’s Hades.

It fits, he reasons.


End file.
